Blessed Messiah and the Tower of AI
by winterliewsound
Summary: After the Divine Punishment, a single Messiah is told to save the dying world. But what's the story before the Sacrifices took place? What happened before the Oracle came to deliver the omen? Based on the song by HitoshizukuP. (Sorry I kept changing the summary, I wasn't satisfied.)
1. Prologue

PROLOGUE

"What's going on?" Miku whimpered at the back seat of the car. Tears were streaming down her cheeks as she watched the devastation outside of the window. Ligtning struck down from the sky and hurricanes blew from the ocean. Buildings and skyscrapers crashed down in the distance, the screaming of people could be heard even here. Sirens blared on the outskirts, their lights flashing red and blue but the teal-haired girl knew that even they couldn't stop the disaster from happening.

"Don't worry, honey. It'll all be over soon," her mother tried to sooth her though Miku could see the tension in her face. She glanced anxiously at her husband, willing him to coax their daughter too.

"We're going to a safe place. Hopefully, the disaster won't reach us there." Her father drove faster down the highway, flooded with cars escaping from the city.

Two hours into the drive and Miku woke up to a loud clash. She wiped off her drool and looked around widely.

"It's just a thunder, Miku," her mom said in front, twining her short blue hair with her fingertips nervously. "Dad says we're almost there."

Miku relaxed a little. She looked out of the window and saw nothing but trees. They were alone on the road now.

"Where are all the other cars?"

"They went another west," her dad replied. His voice trembling a little. "Don't worry, honey."

Suddenly lightning struck down from the sky and the next thing Miku knew was that they were swerving across the road. The smell of charcoal hit her nose. Her dad cursed loudly before turning into a much smaller road. They didn't travel very far until another lightning struck a tree down in their path. They skidded to a halt.

Rain pattered down heavily around them as her parents ran through the forest, dragging Miku along with them. Lightnjng still roared overhead. Her mother was crying now and her dad picked little Miku up and ran. The little girl was crying uncontrollably now.

Not long after they reached at the bank of the river. Stumped, they decided to go downriver.

After a half hour and not going anywhere, her dad rested her back on the ground.

"You've grown heavy, my big girl." He kneeled down and looked into her eyes, his own eyes filled with sadness. He ruffled her hair, exactly the same colour as his. "I would like to see you grow up into a fine young woman."

Miku shook her head. Unable to believe what she was hearing. Unable to believe what's going to happen.

"Sweetie." Her mother kneeled too, drying off her tears. "You're gonna be fine without us."

Before Miku could open her mouth to speak a loud roaring sound sounded from behind them. All of them turned around, and Miku could see from over their shoulders where the sound was coming from - and she stopped breathing.

A huge wave was coming towards them from upriver, devouring everything in its path, as tall as the highest skyscraper. In the distance she could see an airplane being struck by lightning and fell towards earth, burning, smoke trailing in the sky. She hiccuped, tears streaming down her face.

Her parents turned back to her more urgently now. "We love you remember that," said her mom.

"You're the happiest thing that has ever happened to me." Her dad smiled sadly at her, his eyes glistening.

Then the wave came.


	2. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

 _1 week after the Cleansing_

Kaito had taken charge of the village, being the oldest of 15 years of age. He stood over the tallest hill, surveilling his village with his hands on his hips. His friend, Gakupo was with him, carving something out of wood with his knife.

"I'll never get it right," he muttered. "Dad wanted my to be a carpenter like him. I couldn't even carve straight."

Kaito shrugged. "We'll find a place for you in the village soon, like everyone else. Only a few don't have anything to do." He was silent for a moment, acutely aware of his purple-haired friend looking at him. "The twins. What do you think they can do?"

"Bake?"

"The sisters took care of that."

"Fireworks?"

"Come on, Gak. Those fireworks will scare everyone in a 5-mile radius halfway around the world. Seriously."

Gakupo scratched his short-cropped hair, hating how it always curved into his scalp and tickling his shoulders. "Guard the village, I guess."

Kaito sighed. He turned around to look at his friend, his eyes full of stress. "Meiko claimed she can do that. It's not that she's a girl, but she's...a bit _fragile_."

Gakupo stood up and rested his hand on his friend's shoulder. "She said her dad used to teach her fencing in his spare time. Said she's fit for the job. Give her a chance, Kaito."

The young chief nodded uncertainly. "The twins are still young anyway, they can - "

He was cut off by his friend's sharp cry. He followed Gakupo's gaze to the edge of the forest where a teal-haired girl was barely standing up. She looked stick-thin, her skinny legs barely looked as if they could hold her weight, her eyes were swollen and red and her arms were covered in bruises and her jeans were torn.

"Gakupo, get the others," Kaito cried, beginning to race towards the little girl. "Get Luka and Gumi to prepare the poultices!"

As Gakupo headed down the hill, Kaito reached the girl and she collapsed into his arms. Her pigtails spilling over his shoulder and he tried to carry her. _No! Don't bail on me,_ he thought anxiously, gritting his teeth as he heaved her up. Her body was hot with fever. _I'm not gonna loose you. There's so much death already, and not just from the Cleansing._


	3. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

Miku opened her eyes to the light of the sun slanting in from the window beside her dirty bed. Her head was still light and her eyes felt heavy, but she could hear activity going on from outside.

Suddenly, she realized the situation she was in a sat up suddenly but groaned as her head hammered. She didn't remember anything else other than coming out of the forest unharmed...and then...

The boy. The boy who bore the same hair colour as her mother used to.

She was so confused by everything, she just shook her head. Hoping everything was just a dream. That wave that washed her parents away but magically kept her alive, the disgusting taste of the canned food that she foraged a few days ago, the bitterness of the water she drank from a pool, and days of walking to nowhere, lost in the endless woods.

Someone knocked at the door and Miku saw a blonde child entering with a bowl in her hands, steam still coming off it. The girl's face was full of dirt and her torn clothes didn't look suitable for keeping the cold out, especially at night.

"How are you feeling?" the young girl asked in a cheerful tone. She didn't look more than eight.

"Who are you? Where am I?" As Miku spoke the words, she realized her mouth was parched.

"Not sure." The girl shrugged, still smiling. "Here's some soup Luka has prepared. You've been out cold for two days. Better eat something or you'll die." Her eyes darkened and her smile disappeared. "Just like the rest."

Miku almost choked halfway between frantic slurps of her soup. "Die? Who died?!"

The girl clasped her fingers nervously. "We were living happily here, all of us good neighbors and knew each other quite well - almost everybody. It was a great life. Until the Cleansing." She took a deep breath and Miku saw deep sadness in her eyes. "It wiped out everyone single one of our parents - who knows why - and kept the children alive. There were fourteen of us initially but then some died of depression, or refused to eat and starved to death, and two got sick and died..." Her voice cracked, her eyes glistening with tears.

Miku felt sorry for this little girl. Someone so young shouldn't even know about death, much less see it before her own eyes. She finished her soup and handed it to the girl. "Thanks."

"Welcome." She brightened up again. "Hey, let me fetch Kaito so that we can formally introduce ourselves."

Miku nodded, liking this young girl's enthusiasm and blissful ignorance.

"Can you stand?"

Miku sat up and placed both legs - still covered in scratches - on the floor. She suddenly realized her jeans were gone, replaced by comfortable wool pants. She wondered uneasily who changed them for her. She took a deep breath before trying to get to her feet. She staggered a bit but managed to stand up straight. Her headache had eased a little after drinking the soup.

"Great!" The girl smiled. "Follow me." She practically ran out the door, bowl still in hand.

Miku followed more slowly and when she reached the open door she was almost blinded by the colors and light outside compared to the dull room she was resting in. As her eyes adjusted to the light, she noticed children were carrying out duties that the adults were supposed to do; picking ripened fruits from the tree, milking a cow that somehow survived, watering the crops. Everyone in perfect harmony as if the disaster had never happened. She looked around and saw the girl talking to the handsome boy, her bowl gone. Miku wondered how did she delivered the bowl back so fast... The boy looked up in her direction and smiled.

"Glad to see you're feeling better," he said as he came towards her. "How are you?"

"I'm fine now. Thanks." She returned his smile. The blonde came up behind her boy now, her face full of suspicion and uncertainty. Miku wondered if the blue-haired boy had told the little girl something bad about her... As she studied the girl's face, she realized that this blonde had some differences compared to the girl just now. The girl's features was softer and kinder, cheerful and bright while this one in front of her had a serious expression on her face, the hard features that signaled she's gonna grow up to possess a sharp face, her hair messier and she looked boyish... That's when Miku realized this blonde might not be a girl at all.

The blue haired boy called for everyone to gather around here. Miku felt nervous at being around with so many people. She hadn't seen a clue of a human one week in that forest, and yet here is a village of children. Miku saw from the corner of her eye the same girl who delivered soup exiting a shack, her face still full of smiles, followed by a pink-haired girl.

"My name's Kaito, and I'm the chief of this village," the blue-haired boy introduced himself when everyone had gathered around.

"I'm Meiko, and I'm gonna be a swordswoman," said a slim brown-haired girl, swinging her wooden stick, nearly missing a kid in the head.

"Ia." A sweet-faced girl offered her hand. "Baker, with my sister."

"Mayu," said another girl, her face features looked nothing like her older sister. She smiled warmly at Miku.

"Nice to meet you, my name's Gakupo." A purple-haired boy stepped forward. Miku thought his short hair looked funny on him.

"Gumi here." A green-haired girl said, her voice cool. "Poetry's my thing."

"You can call me Luka." She have her a pat on the shoulder. "I can cook and dance. But not both at the same time."

The two twins came forward.

"I'm Rin. I served you soup!"

"I'm Len, and I'm sure you've just mistaken me for a girl and my sister."

Miku looked apologetically at him before clearing her throat and speaking out loud for everyone to hear. "My name is Miku. I would like to be friends with all of you."


	4. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

 _1 Day After Miku's Arrival_

"You sure you're better now? I insist you stay in bed for a day or two before you start helping around." Kaito was leaning against the oak tree in the middle of the village clearing with his arms crossed. The late morning sunlight shone on his blue hair, dappled by shadows of leaves and branches - a dazzling sight for Miku the ten-year-old.

"I would like to help as soon as I can, and I feel better now," she said with a shrug. "I would like to return the kind hospitality you all have given me."

"We would do that for anyone." Kaito stood up straight and scratched his head. "Well, since you've been bothering me since last night for giving you a job, I've been thinking a lot about what to give you. Do you have anything in mind?"

"Fireworks?"

"Seriously..."

"I could try milking the cattle," she suggested doubtfully. She had seen people milk cows before but never tried it herself.

"Everyone has farming duties on alternate days. It's not fair to give someone such a hard work." Kaito sighed as he looked over her shoulder thoughtfully. "You can try meeting with the others. Maybe that'll give you an idea of what you would like to contribute for the village."

Kaito turned and headed for the farmhouse where the identical twins had just finished gathering eggs from the chickens and were fighting for a hose to water the fields of growing crops.

Miku started uncertainly towards what she thought would be the kitchen where the little girl had disappeared into after serving her breakfast and dinner the day before. She was unsure of who she would find inside.

The scene inside the kitchen surprised her. Everything was polish clean and neatly in place. Gumi was washing the dishes of the morning meal while Ia and her sister Mayu were mixing a flour broth in a bowl. They all looked up with a smile and greeted her.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Miku asked, a bit shy. After the introduction yesterday, Luka had ushered her back into what became her official bedroom and coaxed her to sleep. After a few minutes of the older girl stroking her teal hair, Miku had drifted off into sleep. She hadn't seen the others since then, except Rin, the sweet-hearted, cheerful girl who had served her a bowl of bland salad.

"Would you like to join us? We're making bread for dinner tonight, served with cheese," Ia offered. "It's a special meal these days with food so scarce."

"Sure."

 _Miku's diary - day 1_

 _I tried to help Ia and Mayu in the kitchen to bake banana bread (they had grown a fondness over the twins, with tonight serving the male twin's favourite bread)._

 _I gave everyone a stomach ache that night._


	5. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

Miku woke up the next morning with a loud grumble from her belly. She clutched it in pain, a reminder of the incident last night and Len's persistent will to finish the bread his friends' had baked for him. Rin had almost vomited. Miku made a gentle reminder to herself to never enter the kitchen again.

She met Gakupo outside the farmhouse milking the cows, Luka was farther back in, tending to the horses. The sun had just completed its rise over the Hilltop where the flock of sheep normally graze, their numbers were still little so they needn't need to be taken care of yet.

"Morning, Miku," Gakupo grinned up at her, his short-cropped hair tied back in a low ponytail with a few strands coming out if it. "Quite an incident last night, eh?" Noticing her worried look, he quickly added, "But I'm fine now. Good to have a few things happening in the village once in a while. We'll be talking and laughing about this a year into the future, you'll see."

"What do you do to contribute to the village, Gakupo?" Miku asked after watching Gakupo finish milking the first cow before moving on to the next.

"Honestly, I haven't decided yet," he replied, wiping sweat off his brow. His face darkened as he added, "Wouldn't want to upset the Big Guy on top, right? I might've been doing something to keep Him happy and keep us on His good side."

Miku was a little confused of what he's saying. "So you would like to serve God?"

Gakupo stopped what he was doing, a serious and thoughtful look on his face. "If there's even a small hope of humanity surviving, then I'll do anything to keep Him happy, for the sake of my friends. Besides, if He intended mankind to die, why leave the children?"

"I think you've crowded her head with enough of your crazy talks, Gak." Luka came out with a pail, her white shirt was stained brown and a little bit of green. Miku wondered how long since she'd changed. "Ignore him if you would like to sleep peacefully tonight, Miku."

"Bah! She could've learn something anyway from wise old Gakupo," the purple-haired boy stood up proudly. The cow gave an irritated _moo_ , telling Gakupo to finish milking her so she could continue to graze on the luscious fields. "Unlike you, I don't twirl around under the evening sun everyday."

Luka looked about ready to throw the pail at Gakupo. Miku had remembered seeing someone dance near the edge of the clearing while she was looking out the kitchen window to wash the cooking utensils. Gumi had been with her then, writing down on her notebook while sometimes glancing up at the dancing and humming Luka.

"You're beautiful," the teal-haired girl commented, the words just blurted out of her mouth. Luka flushed red, her face a look of embarrassment and for a moment Miku thought she was going to snap at her but instead she smiled kindly and returned to the back of the farmhouse.

Miku felt her face growing hot as well but fortunately Kaito saved her from either Gakupo or herself from saying anything. He trudging up the hill to the farmhouse and stopped midpoint and waved and yelled for Miku to meet him.

She muttered a quick goodbye to Gakupo and hurried down the hill towards him. "What is it?"

"I just figured I need to show you the perimeter of the village," he replied, guiding her towards the other end of the village where an older girl was standing guard with a stick.

"Hi, Meiko," Miku muttered shyly at the girl once they reached her. Miku thought that she looked rather fragile to be a guard for the village and that a boy should be doing this instead, but she kept the thoughts to herself.

Meiko nodded back in greeting with a smile. "You should always be on your guard, Miku. You never know when danger will strike." She spun around suddenly and pretended to fence with an invisible enemy. Miku looked up uncertainly at Kaito. He returned her look but gave her a reassuring smile as if to say that she knew what she's doing.

They had circled the entire village perimeter by the time the sun had reached its peak. Before retiring to lunch, Kaito wanted to show Miku one last place. "Follow me," he said, entering a dense part of the woods. No more than a few paces later he stopped. Miku was curious, wondering what would be in these woods. She looked at the path in front of her and her spirit dropped. Several crosses were planted in these parts, some big, some small but all of them seemed to be made clumsily by inexperienced children.

"The adults seemed to disintegrate from the earth so there were no bodies to bury. Here lies the bodies of children who had survived the Cleansing, but not from the aftermath," Kaito explained, a grave expression on his face.

Her stomach plummeted. She vaguely remembered Rin mentioning something about this the first day she was arrived. The cheeful girl had changed into a completely different person as she reminisced the disaster.

"We did our best, Miku. But nothing seems enough. Now, all we have is each other. Everyone here has the will and courage to survive, and the unwavering loyalty to each other. It's what this village needs, it's what we need from you." He looked at the poor frightened girl, spooked by what's in front of her. Immediately, Kaito regretted bringing her head. She gripped her tiny hand tightly in his. Miku was too haunted to realize that he was carefully driving her away from the scene. Her feet were firmly planted in the ground and Kaito had to put his arm around her shoulders and guide her gently out of the forest, towards the village clearing where Gumi was helping Mayu and Ia to distribute lunch.

Miku didn't have the appetite anymore.


	6. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

 _3 days after Miku's arrival_

As she opened the stable door and entered, Miku felt her stomach plummeted at the sight of the horse manure. She wrinkled her nose in disgust. Why should a girl like her scoop manure? The voices of Ia and Mayu approached. Miku quickly grabbed the shovel and scooped the manure into a metal dustpan, pretending to be busy. Ever since yesterday, she didn't have the appetite to eat and felt guilty for rejecting the sisters' meal they had cooked all day. They thought they cooked the best dishes any children can make and to not eat them is a big insult.

"Miku? Are you okay?" Ia asked carefully, a hint of doubt in her voice.

Miku nodded, still not looking up.

"You had gone without breakfast. Are you sure you're not feeling well?" Mayu pushed.

A twist in her gut made her spun around, expecting to see sullen expressions on the sisters' faces. Instead, she saw they were deeply concerned about her. The contradiction took her by surprise and she nearly collapsed with relief. However, the result of not eating for a day felt as if it's taking its toll now, slowly, coming like a wave. Her vision blurred and her legs grew weak. The horse grunted and stomped its hooves anxiously, like it realised something was wrong with her.

Ia and Mayu rushed in and half carried and half dragged her outside the stables where she collapsed, her head spinning.

A few moments later, Miku was nibblig on a piece of bread (thankfully not hers) spread with jam. Kaito was looking at her worriedly with the whole village around him, even Meiko eho had returned as fast as she could from the perimeter. When Miku finished, she felt energy returning to her tired limbs, her legs were a little cramped from walking the perimeter with Kaito but she felt better now. She gave her new friends a reassuring smile.

"Now you see why breakfast is so important?" Kaito joked. Everyone laughed with him.

"I'm sorry, you guys," she looked at the sisters standing behind the group. "I thought you were mad at me for not eating your food yesterday."

Mayu snorted. "Our friends are more important than our food. Don't worry about it."

Kaito offered her his hand. "Come on, we've all got a busy day today."

Miku, sill sitting on the grass, looked up at his hand, then at the others around him all seemingly doing the same. She smiled. She would never forget this moment when everyone came to help her, all gathered here in one spot and offering their help.

"I think that was pretty good."

She was sitting at the bottom of the oak tree now, watching Luka danced under the rays of the setting sun as Gumi had just finished reading her poem she was working on.

"Thank you, but it isn't finished yet, thought," Gumi said from a low branch on the tree. "I would like it to be powerful, to tell the reader to go on until the end."

"Why do you like to write poetry so much?"

Gumi was silent as she chose her words. "Well, before the Cleansing, I had always wanted to be an author. Writing piles and piles of books. But after the Cleansing, I felt different, like the earth is telling me to write a song of its days after the disaster; like everything will be good again."

Miku nodded silently, letting her words absorb. The small diary she held in her hand felt like it's meaningless compared to Gumi's poetry. Her gripped tightened.

Gumi realized it and spoke to her, all the while watching the pink-haired beauty dance. "Your diary will mean a lot too one day if you don't give up on it. Not only for you but for all of us. When something goes bad, it's good to go back and reminisce the times together, good or bad. Sometimes, it's something that keeps us together."

 _Miku's diary - day 3_

I would never forget that moment when eveyone extended their hand to help me, like I'm a organ that the body needs to function. Everyone was so kind and caring.

Gumi said that a diary can be a bond that ties us all together, even if the world's going to fall apart. She is very inspiring.

 **Hey guys! Thank you for reading my version of Blessed Messiah and the Tower of AI.**

 **Please leave a review, it really helps.**


	7. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

 _2 weeks after the cleansing_

By now, almost everyone had a job assigned to - all except Miku. Gakupo had found his place as a priest and the twins were given the duty as being sheperds. They were more than happy to do it because they claimed that at least they'll be out in the open and they 'don't have to do anything'. Two female sheep had given birth to their young and another got pregnant, it's about time a sheperd was assigned as the flock increase in numbers.

On this particular day, the twins were running down the Hilltop, abandoning their post much to Kaito's frustration. Their clothes were plastered by sweat to their skinny bodies like skin and Miku grimaced at the thought of the odour even thought they were just seven or eight years old.

"Kaito, something's happening!" Len declared frantically, pointing up at the Hilltop with a shaking finger.

"Len, if a sheep is giving birth you must stay calm and send your sister down and don't -"

"Blocks of stone were floating in the sky and landed far away from here!" Rin, more excited than her brother, interrupted. Her eyes sparkled like blue diamonds.

Kaito was looking suspicious but followed the twins back up the Hilltop all the same with Miku at their heels. When they reached the top, they realised that the twins were right. As Miku watched, two or three stones placed themselves magically, completing the circle the first few stones had made, as if starting the base of a tower. No more stones flew down after that. Kaito's face was unreadable as he stared across the large expanse forest and fields and the gorge at the resting place of the stone bricks.

"Hopefully nothing to worry about," he muttered, half to himself. Miku could see the doubt in his eyes.

That night, Luka had performed her first dance perfomance to all her friends as they gathered in a semi circle around a campfire under the oak. Miku admired her grace and agility but something bothered her, they way her clothes looked too tight arounf her chest area and her leggings looked uncomfortable as she pranced and twirled. Miku decided she wanted to do something about it.

Lost in her trance, she didn't realised that Luka had pulled the twins to their feet and now the three were dancing together. Slowly, one by one, everyone joined Luka in her dance. All of them laughing and singing boisterously as if nothing cared in the world. Rin came and dragged Miku to her feet and she also joined the dance around the fire, all ten of them looked like cavemen making a sacrifice.

Everyone collapsed after what seemed like an hour, gasping for breath and clutching their hips in pain, some trying to contain their dinner in their stomachs. Miku had never felt so belonged anywhere.

"Wish we could have some fireworks, that'll really brighten our night," said Gakupo, with Kaito rolling his eyes.

Miku's _diary - day 7_

We had a splendid night. Luka performed for us and everyone joined in in the end. Gakupo wished for some fireworks.

I've been thinking a lot and I think I know what I can do to contribute to the village.


End file.
